Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Indonesia earthquake kills dozens in Aceh province

Death toll from shallow 6.5-magnitude quake that struck at dawn rises to
97, as officials call for excavation equipment and emergency supplies

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck off Indonesia’s
Sumatra island at dawn on Wednesday has risen to 97, with more people
feared trapped in collapsed buildings.
Search and rescue teams in Aceh province, an area previously devastated by a massive quake and tsunami on 26 December 2004, used tractors to shift the rubble in attempts to reach people buried in their houses.

The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit just north of the small town of
Reuleuet, according to the US Geological Survey. There was no tsunami
alert.
Maj Gen Tatang Sulaiman, the chief of the army in Aceh province, gave
the updated toll on Wednesday morning, adding that four people had been
pulled from the rubble alive. Another four or five are known to be
buried, but Sulaiman did not say if they are dead or alive.
The rescue effort is concentrated on Meureudu, a severely affected
town in Pidie Jaya, the closest district to the epicentre of the
undersea quake. Excavators were trying to remove debris from buildings
where people were believed buried. Local authorities said there was an
urgent need for more excavation equipment and emergency supplies.

President Joko Widodo announced he had instructed his chief of staff to fly immediately to Aceh to monitor the situation.
The quake struck at 5am local time (10pm GMT on Tuesday) as the
predominantly Muslim region prepared for morning prayers, local
officials said.
Images on television and social media showed cracked roads, collapsed
buildings and downed electricity poles. At least five aftershocks were
felt in the hours after the initial quake.
“There isn’t enough medical staff around,” the Red Crescent’s Muklis, who like many Indonesians uses one name, told TVOne.
The national disaster mitigation agency said 273 people were injured, about a quarter of them seriously.

Muhammad Reza Faisal, the director of Chik Ditiro general hospital in
Pidie Jaya, said the facility, which was damaged by the quake, was
overwhelmed with the numbers of injured and many people were being
treated in tents pitched on its grounds. He said five of the quake
victims died at the hospital.
Hasbi Jaya, a local resident, said his family was asleep when the
shaking started. “We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled.
Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed and was destroyed,” he
said. “I looked around and all my neighbours’ houses were also
completely destroyed.”

We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled. Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed.

Hasbi Jaya

Seismologists said the earthquake was felt across much of Aceh province, which was devastated by the 2004 tsunami.
That quake and tsunami killed more than 170,000 people in Indonesia
and tens of thousands more in other countries around the Indian Ocean. Aceh was the worst-hit region with more than 120,000 people killed.
The USGS upgraded the magnitude to 6.5 from an initial reading of 6.4
and issued a yellow alert for expected fatalities and damage. “Some
casualties and damage are possible and the impact should be relatively
localised,” it said.
In the coastal town of Sigli people panicked and fled their houses to
seek shelter away from the sea, despite no tsunami alert being issued.

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“We are now evacuating to Tijue because we are afraid of a tsunami,” said Nilawati, one of those heading inland.
Indonesia
experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position
on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.
Aceh lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, which is particularly prone to quakes. The last one struck in July.
Selina Sumbung, the chair of a local partner of Save the Children,
said it was still too early to know exactly how severe the humanitarian
impact would be. She said roads and ports had been damaged “which may
result in further challenges in delivering aid”.
“We’re particularly concerned about the impact on children. Earthquakes
can be extremely frightening, and children’s psychosocial wellbeing
will be an important part of the recovery process,” Sumbung said.The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report